The Atyrau oil refinery is preparing an environmental modernization program with an estimated cost of about 174 billion tenge. It comprises 18 measures and is intended to serve as the basis for obtaining a comprehensive environmental permit (CEP), infohub.kz reports.
The program runs through 2030 and provides for the introduction of the best available technologies, the modernization of equipment, treatment and emissions monitoring systems, and a reduction in the burden on water resources.
Among the planned measures are the installation of pontoons on storage tanks, the construction of a flare gas recovery unit, the replacement of burners and the modernization of process furnaces.
A separate section concerns water consumption.
By 2030, the limit for fresh water intake from the Zhaiyq River is to be cut to 7.9 million cubic meters per year.
At the same time, the volume of wastewater sent to evaporation fields is expected to fall from 8.687 million to 4.9 million cubic meters.
The plant also expects to significantly reduce emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere.
According to ANPZ, the corresponding limit stood at 20,100 tonnes in 2020. By 2030 it is to be reduced to 12,600 tonnes, or by roughly 37%.
Part of the reduction has already occurred.
According to the company, by 2026 total emissions had fallen to about 14,000 tonnes, while the discharge of pollutants with wastewater dropped from 23,200 to 6,700 tonnes.
ANPZ had previously reported separately on the implementation of 16 environmental projects worth more than 67 billion tenge through 2030.
That sum relates to a separate set of ongoing environmental protection measures and does not replace the 174 billion tenge CEP program, which covers a broader list of the company's obligations.
The comprehensive environmental permit will mark a new level of regulation for the plant.
Once it is obtained, the stated measures and targets will cease to be merely the company's plans and will become mandatory.
ANPZ will have to report regularly to the authorized bodies on the implementation of the program, and the carrying out of the measures and compliance with the standards will be monitored by the state.
The CEP package includes not only the environmental efficiency improvement program itself but also draft standards for permissible emissions and discharges, a waste management program, industrial environmental control and technological standards for the period 2026–2030.
The next stage will be public hearings. They are scheduled for 9 October 2026 at 10:00 and will be held in Atyrau as an open meeting. The project documentation related to obtaining the CEP will be presented there.